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Hi Eileen,

This is all so exciting! I have been working on my family tree for over 10 years. 3 trips to Scotland and one to NZ.  Only once have I come across another member of the Cook/Bell family from Huntingtower. That's an amazing story to be kept for later on....it involves my GG grandmothers sister Isabella Cook. 

My GG grandmother was Margaret Cook, eldest child of Isabella Bell and John Cook of Huntingtower Orchard.  She married Peter Menzies (from Kinnoull, Perth) in 1862 and as Peter was a journeyman ship's carpenter, they set off for Australia the following year on the famous clipper ship "Lightning".
My great grandmother, also named Margaret, was born on board in the middle of the Indian Ocean en route.

Peter and Margaret had 3 more children - Jane, Helen and John, all 3 never married and suprisingly to me, all 3 died in Melbourne but all were born in New Zealand.  Why?

There is a NZ connection which I only worked out last year.  Margaret Cook's younger brother John was working and living in Hokitika and I suspect Dunedin in the 1860s.  He was married, and had one daughter who married late and had no children.  Now you pop up with your mum inheriting from the estate of an Alexander Cook of NZ.  It's a good Cook family name, and another can of worms for me.

I think we should chat via email, I have enough photos, documents and stuff that will addle your brain. I'm sure you have the same!  You can find me at ^(*)

I look forward to hearing from you and I think we can safely say we're cousins!
cheers,
Liz

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Hi cbanhidy, whoever you may be!

Thanks so much for your post, I hope Joelle gets it too.  It would be great to chat to you via a PM (personal message) but newbies to rootschat have to post 3 messages before you can do this, so  just drop us a line and I'll reply and again etc. I certainly owe Joelle an email or 2 and it would be wonderful to clear up this big family mystery.  So many people have been so helpful (thank you all!) but it just doesn't move us forward too much in finding out the whys and wherefores of the Lowther folk of Wiltshire's Orcheston St George, Tasmania, Melbourne or Sydney.

As you've probably read, they're not my family, they're my husbands lot, Winifred Julia Lowther being his grandmother.  He's not particularly interested but I'm fascinated and am probably working on too many trees at once.

So sad to hear of the family rift and name changes (why?) and of all those wonderful family things being burnt, in anger by the sound of it. I think it was quite common back in the 60s.  The "old guard" of the family could be quite repressive, my own great-grandmother certainly scared the life out of me as a child in the 60s and I don't think my mother had much love for her either.( I remember being told of her death while in the bath and I just held my nose and sunk under water so no-one noticed that I didn't cry. To me, she was a creepy horrible old lady in a long black dress.)   Antiques were junk - off to charity or burnt -  to be replaced by cool Parker teak tables and sideboards. Family memorabilia was just fuel on the fire.  Some of the Lowther things do survive but we need to chat about that.

I hope you find a baby name.  A very English colleague told me you should choose a name that would be just WONDERFUL when prefaced with "Sir' or "Lady" - something smart for a first name and a sentimental family name  (which could also be a surname from your family) for the second name.   Sage advice which we followed.


Look forward to hearing from you!

All best,
Liz

But where???

Is there anyway of finding out?

Hi Sarra,

I recently visited the Catholic section of Rookwood and found them most helpful. I was looking for my husband's grandfather's grave and only knew his name and year of death (1954). They gave me a printout of their records which showed the location of the grave and a map to help me find it (which was quite difficult). The record had a space for the funeral director - in this case - unknown.  It had a contact details for the person who had purchased the grave. In this case it was for the dead man's brother, also long dead!

Rookwood is a very old cemetery dating back to the 1800s & so huge that it is a suburb in its own right with its own postcode.  It's a fascinating place!  However, I think many of their less modern records are probably just not up to scratch, or perhaps haven't been transcribed?  I would give them another try via email plus CC to the general cemetery trust - with luck you may get onto a kindly living soul who will help!  There is a "Friends of Rookwood" society who I'm sure will assist. Google it.

Good luck!

cheers,
Liz

Hi Joelle,

Have your PM and replied to your email address !  Thanks for your message.  Debra might like to join in too! This Lowther/Dundee tree could do with a bit of work!
cheers,
Liz